


it's not a perfect plan but it's the one we've got

by blgo (natuya)



Series: hoth topic au [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Gratuitous use of italics, Polyamory, Slice of Life, about a zillion music references, hoth topic au, i love my space children, idek what else to tag this, record store, respect leia or get out, we're barely scratching the surface of my general geekiness here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 14:36:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5874364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natuya/pseuds/blgo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A date in the life of Han and Leia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's not a perfect plan but it's the one we've got

**Author's Note:**

> so glad to finally be adding this to the series!! again, many thanks to bridget♡♡♡
> 
> basically this is just a slice of life fic. it takes place at the same time as ["i just wanna tell you how i'm feeling (gotta make you understand)"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5545208) but u don't have to read both  
> for clarification: the original trio are seniors; ep. 7 characters are freshman. luke and leia are NOT dating. han is dating both of them. he's like the angle of a V. let me know if there are any tags i should add!!
> 
> this title's from st. vincent's "champagne year"  
> (the end notes have a bunch more info on the music etc. mentioned. beware of spoilers tho) please enjoy!! concrit is always welcome

The final bell is ringing and finally they're all free. Han grins at Leia from across their last period class—calculus, Leia's best subject. While everybody else rushes from the room, Han grabs his messenger bag and saunters over to Leia like the Casanova he _thinks_ he is. Leia just rolls her eyes.  


"You got a council meeting today?" He asks. If she does, she can't miss it. Oh, the woes of being President.  


"Nope," she replies. "Record store?"  


"Whatever you want, babe," Han responds as smarmily as he possibly can. They both know it's a lie: if Han didn't want to go somewhere, he'd say so. He always does. "Wanna grab a bite beforehand? I'm starving." Leia arches an eyebrow.  


"Sure, Solo. Imperial Diner, again? Or have you discovered that there are other restaurants in town?" Han just grins.  


"New place! C'mon, sweetheart, you know I'm not _completely_ hopeless."  


"Could've fooled me," Leia responds dryly. "Where?"  


"It's a surprise. I promise you'll love it." Leia groans, acquiescing with a wave of her hand, polished fingernails gleaming. Grabbing her backpack, she starts striding out of the room, Han hurrying to walk beside her. He throws an arm around her shoulder as per usual, and, also as per usual, she shrugs it off. One of the student council members yells out a "see you tomorrow, General!" which has Han snickering. Leia punches him in the shoulder and waves back to the kid before she and Han exit for the parking lot.  


"Play nice, Han. I could always go home and finish my study guide for AP chem instead of hanging out with you."  


"Well, in that case I'd just give Luke a call," Han informs her, smirking. The eyebrow goes up again.  


"And when has Luke ever not sided with me?" Han looks slightly less smug. He's pretty sure it's an empty threat, but she has abandoned him for homework and her vinyl collection before. That, and Luke sides with her every time—twin loyalty, or something. Han is pretty sure they've got some sort of psychic bond going, too. "That's what I thought." With that, they've reached the Falcon. Han jangles his keys to find the right one.  


Across the lot Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" starts blasting. Han and Leia make eye contact and burst out laughing before turning to the source of the noise. Freshman Poe Dameron is dancing next to the rust bucket he can't legally drive as half the school looks on. "That kid is a fucking legend," Han remarks in between whooping and hollering. Leia's cracking up beside him. It's then that they spot Luke racing for the Falcon, high-fiving Poe along the way before stopping in front of Leia, gasping for breath. "Hey, no need to sprint. We were waiting," Han tells him.  


"Yeah, yeah. Are you guys going somewhere?" Luke asks. "Can you drop me at home first?"  


"Sure, kid," Han replies easily, clapping Luke on the shoulder.  


"Certain you don't want to come with us?" Leia asks, ever the inclusive one. Luke just shakes his head.  


"New sheet music," he explains, motioning to the guitar case slung over his shoulder. That's code for hours of practicing that neither Leia nor Han are particularly keen on hearing. Country's not their thing, and even though they listen and applaud Luke when he learns a new song, the early stages can be painful on the ears. Leia nods at Luke, mouth twitching into a smile. Han unlocks the Falcon at last and they all hop in. He fumbles with his seatbelt before handing Leia the AUX cord. Luke calls something about a Jace Everett from the backseat, which Leia promptly ignores. She cranks up the volume as the opening chords of The Cramps' "Bikini Girls With Machine Guns" fills the car.  


"What record is this from?" Han yells as he pulls out of the lot.  


" _Stay Sick!_. I'm pretty sure it was released in 1990," Leia calls back. Han groans.  


"Their stuff from the early eighties is way better," he replies. Leia's worried she'll mess up her face from all the eye rolling. She wonders if there are associated medical concerns. There's no point in dignifying that with a response, so she just rolls down her window and turns it up louder.  


Han gets out of the car and walks Luke to the door when they arrive at the Skywalker home. He gives Luke a kiss on the forehead and then one on the nose. Luke’s got a cute little grin. If this were a romance novel, he’d be blushing like mad. Instead he just ducks his head shyly, like this isn’t something they’ve done a million times, part of their routine. Leia can’t help but snicker a little from her spot in the Falcon. When Luke’s safely inside, Han ambles back to the Falcon. “Alright,” Leia says brightly. “Where to?” Han just smirks and turns the keys in the ignition.

•••

‘Where’ turns out to be First Order, the shiny burger joint that just opened up in town. Leia frowns at Han. “We might as well have gone to Imperial. The food’s the same.”  


“Oh, no, babe. This one’s got something Imperial definitely doesn’t.” He parks the Falcon smoothly, and when they head inside Leia understands what he means. Ben—or, as he’s known now, Kylo—is working the counter. He’s the freshman Han got paired with in their school’s ill-fated buddy program. Han takes great pleasure in being an ass, so Leia knows exactly what’s coming next. “Ben Ren! What’s up, kiddo? Still pretending Sharpie qualifies as tattoo ink?” Kylo scowls. Leia can see why he goes by something else. Even if he picked ‘Kylo’ to sound cool or edgy, a rhyming name like Ben Ren (who in their right mind would go by Benjamin, after all) is easy pickings for the world’s abundant pool of jackasses. “So, how was going to see the marching band with your father? I hope you didn’t forget the red eyeshadow! Man, _that_ is what I call a _look ___!”  


Kylo purses his lips. “What can I get for you guys?” Leia silently applauds him for not rising to the bait this time. She never expects much, though, and she knows that if he weren’t at work there’d be a scene. Time for someone else to take over for Han.  


“I’ll try a veggie burger with onions, and, hm, a large fries. And a cup for water, if you’ve got ‘em. Han?” She turns to look at him expectantly.  


“Bacon cheeseburger and a chocolate milkshake, please.” He does his best impression of a polite person.  


“That’ll be $14.69,” Kylo informs them, looking like he can’t wait for them to leave. Leia thanks him, aiming for diplomacy while Han snickers about “sixty-nine cents.” This earns him an elbow in the ribcage. They select a booth, Han sliding in after Leia and throwing an arm over her shoulders.  


“So, babe, what’ve you got this week?” He’s learned that it’s best to check her schedule rather than bother her about hanging out.  


“Just a council meeting tomorrow and a protest the day after.” She’s both involved in extracurriculars and local activism. The rest of the student body questions her taste in boyfriends. Han agrees with them. He doesn’t know how he got one Skywalker to go out with him, let alone two. (The rest of the student body tends to ignore his relationship with Luke out of confusion. They haven’t exactly been subtle.)  


“So, rebel, what’s it this time?”  


“Raising the minimum wage. A person should be able to work one job on minimum wage and have enough for food and shelter, you know? I’m sick of seeing people slave away at multiple jobs and barely survive, and I’m not the only one.” Leia looks determined as she speaks, passionate with a steady underlying anger at the injustice of it all. Han agrees with her in most regards, including this, but he’s not so selfless. He’s never bothered going to a protest with her, but he’s always felt like he _should_. At the very least, it would show the world that they _do_ have things in common besides the titles in their respective record collections, that he _is_ worthy of her attention. Moreover, since they’ve never cared about the world’s opinion, it would show _her_ that he does give a damn. Actions speak louder than words, and all.  


He’s telling her he thinks he could make it as their food arrives, Kylo’s distinctly snobbish and all-around bratty BFF Hux placing it on the table with the sneer of a long-suffering fifteen-year-old. “Anything else I can get for you?” He asks, not bothering to disguise his lack of enthusiasm.  


“No, thank you,” Leia says as politely as she can manage. Next to her, Han is making a valiant effort to hold in his laughter. It bursts out the moment Hux is out of earshot.  


“All the little emo kids are working here! It’s hilarious. Oh my god, this place is going to get such a rep, princess.”  


“C’mon, Han, leave them alone. They’re _working_. And don’t call me that. It’s tacky.” They both know he won’t stop. (She doesn't really mind Han calling her princess, anyway. They had A Talk.) She's trying hard not to crack a smile at his comments. It's hard not to giggle at Kylo's attempts to emulate Anakin "Will You Please Just a Call Me Dad For Once" Skywalker, musician and father to Leia and Luke. Leia's been familiar with Kylo for years due to his consistent attendance at Anakin's shows since his discovery of them at age ten. It's also really hard to take anyone seriously when they're wearing a The Sith shirt with a picture of Anakin trying to look tough on it. (He succeeds in looking merely grumpy and/or constipated. Leia tries not to think about it.) They've also all heard Kylo's rant about how "The Sith's rendition of 'How Soon Is Now?' totally fucking changed my fucking life. I'm fucking serious!"  


It's with this recollection that Han and Leia dig in to their food. Leia is pleasantly surprised by the quality of her veggie burger. "The ones at Imperial are always kind of slimy and sad looking," she explains to Han. "I'm considering petitioning the school board to hammer out a deal with this place instead of that awful food truck we've got. I mean, who can say that wouldn't be an improvement? No one. We've got an air tight case." She's been trying to find a suitable lunch alternative to present to the school board since she joined the council freshman year. Han grins exaggeratedly around a mouthful of burger, flashing a thumbs up and an appetizing view of his food. Leia grimaces at him before tucking into her own once more.  


Han never stays silent for long, though, and soon he's mocking the book they're reading in AP lit. Leia dutifully reads all of the books, even the ones she hates, while Han reads the ones he finds interesting and scrapes by on the assignments for books he can't bring himself to care about. Leia tries not to press him about this too much because grades can be a touchy subject for him. She knows he could be getting straight As if he put his back into it, but having to repeat junior year has left him with a bad taste in his mouth. They're currently attacking Albert Camus' _The Plague_ , and she knows Han prefers to mock rather than admit he thinks it's good. That would be like admitting how much he secretly loves Daft Punk despite being a self-proclaimed "actual punk rocker."  


"Rats everywhere, Leia! I bet this guy totally gets off on gore." Leia stifles a groan.  


"What if you just admitted you're enjoying the damn book?" she says before taking the final bite of her burger. They've thoroughly demolished the fries, and all that's left is the dregs Han's milkshake.  


Han ignores the question since it was largely rhetorical anyway. "My milkshake brings all the Skywalkers to the yard!"  


"Yeah, like you haven't made that joke a billion times already."  


"A billion, really? I can't believe you've been keeping count!"  


"Well, a billion and one, now," Leia winks, a rare move for her. "Keep it up, cowboy, and I'll have to dump you for propriety's sake."  


"Don't you worry about me, sweetheart. I'll still have Luke, after all."  


Leia raises an eyebrow at this. "Guess I'll have to go after Chewie, then."  


"Aw, princess, not Chewie! You wouldn't!"  


"You know I would, Solo. You could always duel me for his hand."  


"Guess I'll just have to find some way to win you back, huh, princess?" Leia snatches his milkshake away, sipping the last of it while smiling at him. Her eyes are the warm color of cognac, and they're twinkling with delight. Han will never admit it to anyone, but his breath catches a little at this very moment. The majority of the population of Alderaan High will never understand how Han ended up with Leia. To be quite honest, Han doesn't have a clue either. But here she is, and sometimes he thinks he can hear angels singing or some other dime novel bullshit.  


He clears his throat. "Ready to go?" She nods, mouth still curved into a sweet smile, as they clear their trays. "Later, MCR!" Han calls to Kylo as they head out.

••• 

Rebellion Records is hidden in the corner of one of a run down plaza near the center of town. It's got a sports supply store on one side and a sushi bar on the other. They're all local businesses, no chains. The plaza also boasts a game store--board and card, not video--and a body shop. Dusty stucco walls and dirty concrete sidewalks are ubiquitous there, and Leia always finds both of these features comforting. It's no different this time as Han locks the Falcon and they head into Rebellion.  


They're both regulars, and Han works part time there, so the staff greet them both by name and leave them to browse. They know their way around. Leia heads for the used vinyl almost immediately, while Han's first stop is the new CDs. There's a new Baroness album out, and he's become somewhat invested in them as of late. ("You do realize they're metal, right?" Leia had asked when he'd first expressed interest. Han had muttered something about liking other genres, despite his insistence that he's "punk through and through." Leia knows all about his showboating, though, and has resolved to laugh at him in her mind only.)  
Leia doubts they'll have the Siouxsie record she's looking for, but never hurts to try. She doesn't feel like paying for a new one, so this is her best bet. Today's her lucky day, though.  


"Ah hah!" she exclaims, pulling a slightly battered LP from the crate she's been shuffling through. It's a copy of _Tinderbox_ , and she thinks that, at six bucks, it'll still play. It's not an original pressing, but she's not picky. Han glances over and she holds it up for him to see. He flashes her a thumbs up, waving a copy of Purple at her and heading over to check out the used vinyl crates.  


"See anything I'd like?"  


"There's a copy of _Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables_ for five and a couple of Black Flag records that I didn't catch the price tags on. And," she lowers her voice conspiratorially, "an Anthrax album. You'll have to find it yourself, though."  


"Sick," he says, smirking. "Maybe you should go check out the new stuff, see if they've got any Lana. You know, for Luke." Leia gives him her best deadpan expression.  


"I think I'll do that." She doesn't do embarrassment, and she most certainly doesn't do guilty pleasures. Leia owns up to every record she owns, and she couldn't care less if Luke's Lana Del Rey records get mistaken for hers.  


Her exploration of the new vinyl nets her St. Vincent's _Strange Mercy_. With that and _Tinderbox _in hand, she makes her way back to Han, running her fingers over the slightly grimy rows of used CDs and cassettes along the way.  
__

"I've got everything I need. You?"  


Han proudly presents to her _Spreading the Disease_. "Look what I found, babe!"  


"Great job, honey, I'm so proud," she replies sardonically. He bends down for a quick kiss. "Let's check out, yeah? I've really gotta get going on my study guide." He nods, recalling her earlier threat.  


"Think Luke will want to play me one of the new songs he's learning?" That's code for "can I stay for dinner?" Leia nods her affirmation.  


"He'll be thrilled. And we can do our calc homework together, if you want." She means that she can help him out if he needs it.  


"Aw, babe, you're too good to me." He'll take all the Skywalker time he can get, even if there's math involved. With a plan in place, they head to the counter to check out. Gial's at the register, and he valiantly tries not to snicker at Han's purchases. Han's love of metal is his worst-kept secret. Leia doesn't know why he tries.  


Han pays for both of their records, since he's the one with an employee discount and Leia bought lunch. Gial notices this and smiles. He's been working at Rebellion for years and seems to always know which records belong to whom, even in joint purchases. "Thanks for coming in, guys. Are you working tomorrow, Han?"  


"I dunno, man. I've gotta check the schedule again."  


"Well, let me know. I'll see you both around." Gial waves as they leave. 

••• 

Back at chez Skywalker, there's homework to be done, dinner to be negotiated, and, of course, records to play.

**Author's Note:**

> in this 'verse the Millenium Falcon is a modified 1969 Ford Falcon Sport Coupe
> 
> Gial is Gial Ackbar, aka Admiral Ackbar
> 
> "Bikini Girls With Machine Guns" by The Cramps is indeed from _Stay Sick!_ (1990)  
>  Jace Everett is a rock/country singer (he did "Bad Things," the True Blood opening song)  
> Anakin's band, The Sith, covered "How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths  
> Han references My Chemical Romance's "Welcome to the Black Parade" while mocking Kylo  
> Leia buys _Tinderbox_ (1986) by Siouxsie and the Banshees and _Strange Mercy_ (2011) by St. Vincent  
>  the Baroness record Han goes looking for is _Purple_ (2015); he also buys _Spreading the Disease_ (1985) by Anthrax  
>  _Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables_ (1980) is by Dead Kennedys
> 
> the Black Flag records in question, by the way, are _Damaged_ (1981) and _Slip It In_ (1984)
> 
> Rebellion Records is very loosely based off of a record store in my hometown
> 
> i may or may not be adding more chapters to this, but it's complete on its own


End file.
